Telegraph mechanism



March 28, 1944. J, LONG 2,345,137

TELEGRAPH MECHANISM Filed June 10, 1942 INVENTOR J. W LO N G ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 28, 194-4:

TELEGRAPH MECHANISM James W. Long, PlainfieliLN. 1., assignor to The Western Union Telegraph Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 10, 1942, Serial No. 446,415

7 Claims. (Cl. 178-79) The present invention relates to a telegraph mechanism and more particularly to trip or release mechanisms such as are employed to control the starting and stopping of a rotatable distributor members in telegraph keyboard mecha-' nisms.

The mechanism employed ina start-stop telegraph keyboard usually consists of a rotatable distributor member which is released for one revolution at a time in conjunction with the actuation of any one of the keylevers- During the rotation of the distributor member, it causes: the transmission of a code group of impulses representative of the keylever which initiated it into rotation. Modern telegraph keyboards are capable of transmitting at high speeds, in the neighborhood of three hundred and sixty characters per minute, and obviously with such high speeds the time allotted for the transmission of a single character is very short. The distributor member has to be startedand stopped for each character transmitted, and in order to prevent the repetition of the transmission of a code group when a keylever is held depressed for a longer interval of time than is necessary to transmit a single code group, a so-called non-repeat mechanism is employed.

In accordance with the above, it is one of the primary objects of the present invention to pro-' vide an improved-keyboard trip mechanism embodying the non-repeat feature which is ofimproved and simplified design and easy to manufacture and maintain.

The release ofthe rotatablemember ina keyboard is usually controlled by the motion of a universal bar which is operable by each one of the keylevers. After initiating the rotation of the rotatable member,.the universal bar needs to be returned to its normal position before the same can be re-operated to initiate the rotation of the rotatable member for asecond revolution. Where the amount of movement required for the universal bar to effect release of the rotatable member is appreciable, it may not have sufiicient time to be restored toits normal position between oper ation and accordingly may not efiect release of the rotatable member once for each keyi'ever operated. Hence, a group of impulses representing one of the actuated keylevers may not be trans mitted. Such operation is likely to occur when the keylevers are being operatedat a high rate" of speedor are being forced, as when one key may be depressed before the previously operated key is completely restored to its normal position. 7

Accordingly, it is still another object of the invention to provide a trip mechanism employing a universal bar which has an adjustment whereby the movement thereof to effect tripping of the r"- tatable member may be made variable and extremely small-.-

Still another object of the invention is topro= vide a trip mechanism which is restored to its normal position where it is eirec'tive'to stop rota tion of the rotatable member early and at an adjustable point in the cycle of operation. This provides greater margin-of adjustment and gives the tripping elements a longer interval oftime to settle down in their normal positionsbeforere operation occurs.

A stillfurther object of the'invention-is to pro= v ide a-keyboard' wherein the load'on thekeylevr to efiect release of the rotatable member" is ex= tremely light and substantially uniform;-

The above and further objects of the-invention will be more apparent in the following. de tailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in the-latterof which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the elements comprising the present invention-as employed to control the release and stopping of a rotatable distributor member included in a keyboardmech= anism;

Fig. 2 is a modificationof the invention where in the axis of the rotatable distributor member is positioned perpendicular to the keylevers; as dis= tinguished from the preferred embodiment of Fig.- 1 where the axis of the rotatablemember is parallel to the keylevers; and

Fig. 3 is an elevational detail view of someof the elements of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing,and-particularly Fig, 1, there is shown the preferredembodiment of the invention and the c'ooperating-elments' of a keyboard mechanism believed necessary for a complete and thorough understanding ofthe in vention and the manner of operation thereof; The keyboard employs the usual arrangement and number of keylevers ll, only two of'which are shown, pivotally mounted adjacent their rear ends on a pivot pin l2. Individual springs l3 return the keylevers to andmaintain'the samein their normal elevated positions onthe release thereof. Extending transversely. of 1 the keylev'ers H beneath the central portion thereof are aset of five permutation bars [4 and one universal'bar it; The permutation bars 14 have arrange'd on' their upper edges notches such as I? which cc'iop erate with the lower edge of an actuatedkey lever ii so that the bars are selectively posi tioned into one or the other of two positions in accordance with which one of the keyle'vers is actuated. The universal bar [6' has similar notches l8 therein, all slopingin one direction; with a notch in operative relationwith each key lever so that, whenever a keylever is operated; the universal bar is invariably operated; tb-th left. The universal bar It is held iii-its-nornial' righthand position with a projectiori- [-9 esters: ing from the under edge thereof-"in contact with-'a";

one or the other of their two positions until the setting thereof is changed by the operation of a subsequent keylever. Rollers such as 23 mounted on a rod 24 support the permutation bars and the universal bar and permit movement thereof in the direction of their length with a minimum of friction.

Each permutation bar l4 has associated with the right hand end thereof a pivot lever 29, only one :of which is shown, mounted on a pivot rod 25. In operative relation with the right hand end of the pivot lever are contacts 21 so arranged that with the associated permutation bar in its left hand position the contacts 21 are open, whereas the movement of a permutation bar to its right hand position pivots the lever 29 to close the contacts 21. A set of contacts such as 21 is associated with each permutation bar l4, and as set forth the contacts assume either a closed or opened position in accordance with the position of the permutation bars, which are in turn controlled by the keylevers H.

One of the springs of each of the contacts 21 is connected to potential, while the other spring is connected by an individual conductor to an associated segment on a face plate indicated in general by reference numeral 28. The face plate 28 also includes a solid ring 29 to which is connected the line L. A brush 3 I, cooperates with the rings of the face plate 28 to transmit the signals set up on the segmented ring to the line. The brush 3|, which is fixed to a shaft 32, constitutes the rotatable distributor member, the shaft being rotated from a constantly rotating shaft 33 through a clutch such as the friction clutch indicated in general by reference numeral 34. Also fixed to the shaft 32 for rotation therewith by means of a set screw 35 is a stop arm 31. The stop arm and associated elements are released for one revolution at a time in conjunction with the operation of each keylever in a manner hereinafter pointed out.

Pivotally mounted on a shoulder screw 38 carried in the right hand end of the universal bar I3 is a bell crank 39 which has an upwardly ex-- tending arm 4| and a rightwardly extending arm 42. A spring43 is attached to the arm 42 and to aprojection 44 of the universal bar l6 and tends to pivot the bell crank 39 in a counterclockwise direction and normally holds the same against. a stop 45. The right hand end of the arm 42 carries therein an adjusting screw 41 with a lock nut 48, Fig. 3. The inner or left hand end of the adjusting screw 41 is normally in operative relation with the lower end of a blocking member 49, Figs. 1 and 3, which is pivotally mounted on a pivot rod A spring 52 attached to the blocking member normally tends to pivot the same in a counterclockwise direction to hold the upper end against a stop 53. The upper end of the blocking member has a shoulder or ledge 54 formed therein, upon which normally rests the right hand end of a stop gate 55. The stop gate 56 is pivoted on a pin 51, and the left hand end thereof normally engages the stop arm 31 to hold the shaft 32 and brush 3| from rotating. A spring 58 is attached to the gate 56 and is effective to hold the right hand end of the gate, against a stop 59 when the left hand end thereof is out of engagement with the stop arm 31.

The operation of any one of the keylevers H causes the universal bar l6 and the bell crank 39 to move to the left. This movement of the bell crank 39 brings the screw 41 in the right hand end thereof into engagement with the lower end of the blocking member 49 to cause the same to pivot in a clockwise direction. The pivoting of the blocking member 49 withdraws the ledge 54 from beneath the right hand end of the gate 56, whereupon the stop arm, tending to rotate through power communicated thereto from the friction clutch 34, is free to rotate and in rotating pivots the gate 35 in a clockwise direction. After the stop arm 31 has rotated a few degrees from its normal rest position, it moves out of engagement with the left hand end of the gate 56, whereupon the attached spring 58 pivots the gate back into engagement with the stop 59 where it is in position to re-engage the stop arm 31 at the end of a revolution thereof. When the operated keylever II is released before the shaft 32 completes a revolution or a substantial portion thereof, the spring 22 returns the universal bar [6 and bell crank 39 to their normal right hand positions, which permits the spring 52 to pivot the blocking member 49 into its normal position against the stop 53 with the ledge 54 beneath the right hand end of the gate 56. Hence, when the stop arm 31 reengages the gate 53, the same is pivoted a slight amount in a clockwise direction, or until the right hand end engages the ledge 54 on the blocking member 49. This stops further rotation of the shaft 32, and the brush 3| rotating therewith is stopped in its normal position.

If the operated keylever is held depressed longer than is necessary for the shaft 32 to make one revolution, the stopping thereof at the end of a revolution is assured by repositioning the blocking member 5| to its normal blocking position independently of the universal bar It. This is accomplished by pivoting the bell crank 39 in a clockwise direction to move the adjusting screw 41 in the right hand end thereof down and out of engagement with the lower end of the blocking member 49. Such pivoting movement of the bellcrank 39 is effected by the stop arm 31 engaging the upper end of the arm 4| thereof and permits the blocking member 49 to return to its normal blocking position regardless of how long the universal bar may be held to the left. As the stop arm passes out of engagement with the arm 4| of the bell crank 39, the spring 43 attached to the arm 42 thereof is effective to pivot the bell crank so that the left hand end of the screw 41 engages the bottom of the blocking member 49. When the keylever is finally released, the movement of the universal bar I3 to its right hand position moves the screw 41 to the right and out of engagement with the bottom of the blocking member 49, whereupon the spring 43 pivots the bell crank to its normal position with the arm 42 engaging the stop 48 and the screw 41 in operative relation with the lower right hand edge of the blocking member 49. Thus, the blocking member 49 is invariably returned to its normal blocking position in conjunction with each revolution of the shaft 32 regardless of the length of time an actuated keylever is held depressed. Accordingly, the shaft 32 can make but one revolution at a. time and is invariably stopped in its normal stop position until the actuation of the same or another keylever.

By'means of the adjusting screw 41, the amount of movement of the universal bar I6 that is required to effect sumcient pivoting of the blocking member 49 to move the ledge out of engagement 7 with the right hand end of the gate 56 can be varied and reduced to a very small amount, which is an advantage in this type of keyboard, as it permits faster operation. Another advantage is efiected by the positioning of the pivot 51 of the gate 56 to the left of'the center so that the right hand arm is considerably longer than the left hand arm. With such an arrangement the pressure of the right hand end of the'gate 56 on the ledge 54 is less than the pressure of the stop arm 3? on the left hand end of the gate. Accordingly, the locking member 49 can be moved out from beneath the gate 55 more easily than wouldjhe the condition if the stop arm 31 rested directly on the ledge 54. Accordingly,yless pressure or load is required on the keylevers to effect release of the shaft 32 for a given rotative force of the friction clutch 34 which must be at least a predetermined amount to assure that no slippage occurs therein during the rotation of the shaft 32.

In the modification of the invention shown in Fig. 2, the shaft I32 is arranged perpendicular to the keylevers I I I. In this figure only the uni-- versal bar H is shown, there being the usual permutation bars and associated keyboard elements arranged similarly to the manner shown in Fig. l. The spring I22 attached to the universal bar holds the same in its normal right hand position with the projection H9 thereon against the stop I2I. Whenever any of the keylevers such as III are operated, the universal bar is moved to the left, and on release of the operated keylever the spring I22 returns the universal bar to its normal position. Attached to the right hand end of the universal bar H6 by means of a screw I23 is a bracket I24. Pivotally attached to the bracket I24 by a shoulder screw I26 carried therein is a trip lever I22. A spring I28 is attached to the trip lever and tends to pivot the same in a counterclockwise direction as limited by a bent portion I29 of the bracket I24. The shaft I32, which is frictionally driven through a friction clutch I3I from a constantly rotating shaft I33; constitutes the rotatable distributor member and may have rotatable therewith a brush I34, which cooperates with a face plate I36 to distribute impulses in the usual manner toa line circuit in accordance with the operation of permutation bars. The arrangement of the segments of the face plate I36 may be the same as that of the face plate 28 in Fig. 1.

The shaft I32 also has rotatable therewith a stop arm I31 in operative relation with a stop gate I38 pivotally mounted on a pivot I39. A blocking member I4I with a ledge I42 pivoted on a pin I 33 blocks releasing movement of the gate I38, which thereby holds the shaft I32 from rotating. The trip lever I 2'! moving to the left with the universal bar Ht causes a screw I44 in the right hand end of the trip lever to pivot the blocking member I4I against the action of its attached spring I46 to move the ledge I42 out from beneath the stop gate I38. Thereupon the stop arm I31 is free to rotate the gate I33 until it clears the same. A spring I47 then returns the stop gate to its stopping position against a stop pin I48.

In order to insure that the blocking member MI is. returned to its normal position following the release of the stop arm I31, the trip lever I2'I is pivoted in a clockwise direction to disengage the screw I44 in the right hand end thereof from engagement with the blocking member I4 I. The disengagement is effected by a lever I49 pivoted on a pin I5I with. one arm thereof resting on the top of the trip lever- I27 and the other arm in operative relation with a cam I52 fixed to the shaft I32. When the stop arm I3'I has. rotated a few degrees from its normal'rest position, the cam I52 effects pivoting of the lever I49, which in turn. pivots the trip. lever I21 to effect disengagement of the screw I44 with the blocking member Ml. Thus, regardless of the length of time a keylever is held actuated, the blocking member I4I is permitted to return to its normal position with the ledge I42 beneath the stop gate I38, where it is effective to block the gate I38 when the stop arm I31 completes its revolution and reengages the gate. Thus, the stop arm I3? and the shaft I32 are released for one, revolution in conjunction with each operation of a keylever I I I and are invariably stopped at the end of each revolution.

By positioning the cam I52 on the shaft 932 so that it is effective to pivot the lever I49 shortly after the release of the stop arm I31, sufficient time is available to insure the-returnof the blocking member I4l to its normal blocking position. and such an arrangement permits highspeed operation of the keyboard'without, the necessity of having relatively strong springs on the oper ating members, since a comparatively large por tion of an operating cycle is availableto return the elements comprising the trip mechanism to their normal positions. The time ofv the return of the blocking member I4I to its. normal blocking position can bevaried in a. cycle of operation by varying the position ofthe, cam I52 relative to the stop arm I37 on the shaft I32.

If the disengagement of the screw I44 withthe blocking member MI is effected throughthe cam I52 while the trip lever I27 is held in its left hand position, the subsequent return of the trip lever to its right hand position on the release of the keylever places the screw in operative relation with the blockin member I4I, Where it iscapable of operatingv theblocking member to effect release of the stop member I31 on the operation of the subsequent keylever. When the trip lever I2'I is returned to its normal position by the immediate release of the actuated keylever before the operation of the trip lever by the lever 1'49, the latter lever is effective to merely idly pivot the trip lever I21 so that the screw IE4 merely moves out of and then back into operative relation with the blockin member I4I.

It is obvious, of course, that various other modifications of the invention may bemade without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art or are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: V

1. In a telegraph keyboard, a set of. keylevers, a universal bar invariably operated on the actuation of any one of said keylevers, a frictionally driven rotatable member, a. yieldable stop, a blocking member for said yieldable stop, means including said yieldable stop and said blocking member for holding said rotatable member at rest, a pivotable member operableby said universal bar, means including said pivotable member on the operation of said universal bar to opcrate said blOcking member to unblock said yieldable stop to thereby release said rotatable member for rotation, and means operated by said rotatable member during rotation thereof to efiect pivoting and disengagement f said pivotable member with said blocking member whereby said blocking member is positioned to again block said yieldable stop.

2. In a telegraph keyboard, a set of keylevers, a universal bar invariabl operated on the actuation of any one of said keylevers, a frictionally driven rotatable member, a yieldabl stop, means including said yieldable stop and said blocking member for holdin said rotatable member at rest in a normal position, a pivotable member operable by said universal bar, means including said pivotable member on the operation of said universal bar to operate said blocking member to unblock said yieldable stop to thereb release said rotatable member for rotation, means operated by said rotatable member during rotation thereof to effect pivoting and disengagement of said pivotable member with said blocking member whereby said blocking member is positioned to again block said yieldable stop and means for varying the amount of rotation of said rotatable member from said normal position necessary to effect disengagement of said pivotable member with said blocking member.

3. In a telegraph keyboard transmitter, a rotatable member normally tending to rotate, a yieldable stop for said rotatable member, a pivotable blocking member for preventing yieldable movement of said yieldable stop to thereby hold said rotatable member from rotating, a plurality of keylevers, a universal member invariably operated a predetermined amount on the actuation of any one of said keylevers, means controlled by said universal member to pivot said pivotable blocking member out of blocking rela tion with said yieldable stop to thereby release said rotatable member for rotation, means operative by said rotatable member during rotation thereof to disable said last mentioned means whereby said pivotable blocking member after unblocking movement thereof is invariably repositioned into blocking relation with said yieldable stop, and means for varying the amount of movement of said universal member necessary to efiect release of said rotatable member.

4. In a telegraph keyboard transmitter, a rotatable distributor member normally tending to rotate, a yieldable stop gate normally holding said distributor member from rotating, a blocking member for blocking yielding movement of said stop gate, resilient means for biasing said blocking member into said stop gate blocking position, a set of keylevers, a universal bar having a normal position and invariably moved from said normal position on the actuation of any one of said keylevers, an operating member for said blocking member and normally in operative relation therewith, said operating member being operative to move said blocking member out of blocking relation with said stop gate on the movement of said universal bar from said normal position, and means operated by said distributor member during rotation thereof to move said operating member out of operative relation with said blocking member to thereby permit said resilient means to return the same to said stop gate blocking position.

5. In a telegraph keyboard transmitter, a rotatable distributor member normally tending to rotate, a yieldable stop gate normally holding said distributor member from rotating, a blocking member for blocking yielding movement of said stop gate, resilient means for biasing said blocking member into said stop gate blocking position, a set of keylevers, a universal bar having a normal position and invariably moved from said normal position on the actuation of any one of said keylevers, an operating member for said blocking member and normally in operative relation therewith, said operating member being operative to move said blocking member out of blocking relation with said stop gate on the movement of said universal bar from said normal position, means operated by said distributor member during rotation thereof to move said operating member out of operative relation with said blocking member to thereby permit said resilient means to return the same to said stop gate blocking position, and means for varying the time of moving said operating member out of operative relation with said blocking member relative to the time of the unblocking of said stop gate.

6. In a telegraph keyboard transmitter, a r0- tatable distributor member normally tending to rotate, a yieldable stop gate normally holding said distributor member from rotating, a blocking member for blocking yielding movement of said stop gate, resilient means for biasing said blocking member into said stop gate blocking position, a set of keylevers, a universal bar having a normal position and invariably moved from said normal position on the actuation of any one of said keylevers, an operating member for said blocking member and normally in operative relation therewith, said operating member being operative to move said blocking member out of blocking relation with said stop gate on the movement of said universal bar from said normal position, means operated by said distributor member during rotation thereof to move said operating member out of operative relation with said blocking member to thereby permit said resilient means to return the same to said stop gate blocking position, and means for varying the point in the movement of said universal bar from said normal position that said blocking member is moved out of blocking relation with said stop gate.

7. In a telegraph keyboard transmitter, a rotatable distributor member normally tending to rotate, a yieldable stop gate normally holding said distributor member from rotating, a blocking member for blocking yielding movement of said stop gate, resilient means for biasing said blocking member into said stop gate blocking position, a set of keylevers, means operative by any one of said keylevers for moving said blocking member out of blocking relation with said stop gate and means operated by said rotatable distributor member for controlling said last mentioned means to release said blocking member whereby said resilient means moves said blocking member back into blocking relation with said stop gate to thereby stop rotation of said distributor member at the end of a revolution thereof.

JAMES W. LONG. 

